This is the story of a young female lecturer of Turkish literature who struggles as a woman and a mother to stake out her own claims to life. Following the military coup of 1980, martial law was established in Turkey with the aim of putting an end to the widespread social strife that had arisen as adherents of political movements turned to violence, and universities became hotbeds of protests and dissent. The narrator finds herself caught up in the political upheaval of these times but refuses to compromise her intellectual integrity and dedication to teaching, encouraging her students to...